But we often overlook them if we stay in
the country all the time.
One example is the “Shinkansen” bullet
train. Did you know that Shinkansen cars look different in different regions, and
even within a region?
When I had a friend visiting from France,
who loves trains by the way, the first thing he found amazing was the fantastic
design of the super express Shinkansen.
I may be a bit biased as a train lover
myself, but I would say trains are ingrained in our lives in Japan. Even kids
in nursery school can spend all day talking about different types of Shinkansen
cars: from “Nozomi,” “Hayabusa,” and “Komachi,” which are known to almost everyone,
to E5 and E7, which may make sense only among railway enthusiasts.
Adults also love Shinkansen. Some even go
out of their way to see the moment a Hayabusa car and a Komachi car get
connected at a station.
As a train-loving family (my 9-year-old
child and myself) enjoys the time at a station, a young man and a senior stand
right next to them, holding cameras and looking at new Tokaido Shinkansen cars.
Without words, we all share joy and excitement.
This is just one example to show that
Shinkansen and trains can be great tools to spark people’s interest, exciting
and inspiring them.
Japan also has the Railway Museum, a mecca
for railway enthusiasts, and I had a chance to visit there with my family and a
friend’s family.
As I entered the museum, the first thing I felt
was the air filled with love and excitement. Why? Because everyone there,
including visitors and staff, was a train lover.
Of all these train enthusiasts, I saw the
greatest passion coming from seniors, who had retired from railway companies
and now working there as volunteer guides.
I came across a younger guide (in his 60s),
accompanying a tour led by an experienced one (maybe in his late 70s?) and
getting himself trained.
While frantically taking notes, he would pat
a Shinkansen car in his free time and happily greet passing visitors. His love
of railways was so infectious that watching him made us happy as well.
As a new guide, he must have had a lot to
learn and memorize about this huge museum. And being a guide must have been
quite a new role for him. Despite all these challenges, for some reason, this rookie
guide in his 60s seemed to be totally enjoying himself.
Perhaps what he is doing is an extension of what he loves, and the joy of
sharing what he loves is the driving force as a volunteer.
Or it may be a sense of gratitude like, “Thank
you for letting me share what I love with other people.”
Watching these guides reminded me of local
volunteer guides for tourist attractions in their communities.
Being productive may mean being able to
share your overflowing passion with others. The time at the Railway Museum has
made me feel that way once again.
If that’s the case, perhaps what we need is a platform
where people can easily share what they love.
In the current system, before starting
volunteering or other activities, people are often asked about what experience and
skills they can use or contribute. But maybe we can loosen up a little.
We may also need a system that allows people to continue activities in
different ways. For example, older people may start having problems with
walking and find it difficult to continue their role as guide. But they can
still continue as advisers to younger colleagues.
But their joy comes from talking to people
about what they love, so what we really need to do could be finding ways so
that they can keep working as guides even with bad legs.
If this goes well, we can make it an intergenerational
exchange base on what we love.
As I wrote in my last blog, we can spread
smiles to everyone by using what we already have, but with just a little twist,
like the senior volunteer guides at the Railway Museum. ^_^
Photo: A man in a yellow vest is the
volunteer guide.
Shino Sawaoka
Associate Professor,
Dept. of Health Management,
Tokai University
jzt1864@tokai.ac.jp
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